Wafer with beveled edge region and method for analyzing shape of the same

This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0144952, filed in Korea on Nov. 1, 2017, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

Embodiments relate to a wafer and a method of analyzing a shape of the same, and more particularly, to a method of checking a shape of a wafer on which a photoresist or the like is appropriately formed in a wafer fabricating process.

Semiconductor devices are formed on a wafer. In this case, in order to achieve high integration and high yields of the semiconductor devices, it is required for an edge of the wafer to have high purity and an appropriate shape suitable for a manufacturing process of the semiconductor device. To this end, a practical and easy method of analyzing a shape of an edge of a wafer is required. For example, one of the most important mathematical parameters of the shape of the edge of the wafer is a curvature, and an overall curvature formed by the edge of the wafer and a front surface of the wafer should be as small as possible. This is because the front surface of the wafer and the edge of the wafer are smoothly formed without a boundary with each other when the curvature is small.

However, when the curvature formed by the edge and the front surface of the wafer is not small, a critical problem in that the wafer may be non-uniformly coated with a photoresist (PR) and the like may occur in a process for manufacturing the semiconductor device on the wafer.

In one conventional method of analyzing a shape of an edge of a wafer, roughness of a surface of the wafer is analyzed through optical principles such as laser scattering and the like. However, in such conventional methods, in order to perform extremely precise analysis corresponding to the calculation of a curvature of the edge, there is a technical burden of a smaller size of a laser spot as well as requiring expensive equipment which is elaborately aligned.

Embodiments are directed to providing a method of analyzing a shape by measuring a profile of a bevel portion of an edge region of a wafer.

Embodiments are directed to providing a wafer with excellent quality by minimizing a thin film layer remaining after a removal process of a thin film layer.

Embodiments provide a method of analyzing a shape of a wafer including: measuring a cross-sectional shape of a plurality of wafers; obtaining a first angle formed by a first line connecting a first point to a second point having a maximum curvature in an edge region of the wafer and a front surface of the wafer; forming a thin film layer on a surface of each of the wafers; measuring a thickness profile of an edge region of the wafer on which each of the thin film layers is formed; and confirming a wafer having a smallest maximum thickness profile of the thin film layer among the plurality of wafers.

When a height of a bevel portion in the edge region of the wafer is B 1 , the second point may have a height difference within 10% from the front surface of the wafer.

The second point may be positioned at a distance of 50 to 90 micrometers in a horizontal direction from a start point of the bevel portion of the edge region of the wafer.

When the height of the bevel portion in the edge region of the wafer is B 1 , the first point may have a height difference within 2.0% from the front surface of the wafer.

In Another embodiment, a wafer including: a bulk region; a front surface and a back surface of the bulk region opposite and parallel to each other; and an edge region disposed at an edge of the bulk region, wherein the edge region includes a bevel portion and an apex of an edge thereof, wherein the bevel portion includes a first point having a maximum curvature and a second point spaced apart in a direction of the apex from the first point, which are disposed in order from the front surface toward the apex, and wherein a first angle formed by a first line connecting the first point to the second point and a front surface of the wafer may be 22 degrees or less.

The first angle formed by the first line connecting the first point to the second point and the front surface of the wafer may be 18 degrees or more.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing a wafer of which a shape is analyzed by a method according to an embodiment and enlarged sectional views thereof.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a reference point and first to third points of a bevel portion of a wafer.

FIG. 4 is a view showing obtaining a first angle of a bevel portion of a wafer.

FIG. 5 is a view showing obtaining a second angle of a bevel portion of a wafer.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the correlation between a first angle θ 11 measured in a position of a second point P 2 and a second section on a F-type substrate and a thickness of a thin film layer.

FIG. 7 is a view showing the correlation between a first angle θ 11 measured in a position of a second point P 2 and a second section on an R-type substrate and a thickness of a thin film layer.

FIG. 8 is a view showing the correlation between the first angle in FIG. 4 and the second angle in FIG. 5 .

FIG. 9 is a view showing a thin film deposition and etching process of a wafer.

Hereinafter, embodiments are provided in order to explain the invention in detail, and will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings to help understanding of the invention.

However, embodiments according to the present invention may be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Embodiments of the present invention are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art.

In addition, relational terms such as “first” and “second,” “upper” and “lower,” and the like, without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between its entities or elements, may only be used to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element.

First, a method of fabricating a wafer according to an embodiment will be described. Specifically, a silicon single crystal substrate is fabricated by a single crystal growing process for fabricating an ingot by the Czochralski method, a slicing process for obtaining a thin disk-shaped wafer by slicing a single crystal ingot, a grinding process for machining an outer circumferential portion of a wafer to prevent cracking and distortion of the wafer obtained by the slicing process, a lapping process for removing damages due to mechanical processing remaining on the wafer, a polishing process for mirror-polishing the wafer, and a cleaning process for removing abrasive or foreign substances adhering to the polished wafer.

In addition, a shape of a wafer is analyzed by a method of analyzing a shape of a wafer according to embodiments. Hereinafter, although an edge of a wafer, among shapes of the wafer such as a wafer edge, a wafer surface, a wafer back surface, and the like which may be acquired as an image, will be described in the embodiments as an example, the present embodiment may also be applied to another shape of the wafer such as the wafer surface, the wafer back surface, and the like other than the wafer edge.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a wafer of which a shape is analyzed by a method according to an embodiment and enlarged sectional views thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a wafer (Wafer, W) may be divided into a bulk region B, a front surface f and a back surface b, and an edge region E disposed at an edge of the bulk region B.

An ‘A’ region which is a part of the wafer W is shown in detail in FIG. 1 .

The bulk region B is a region occupying a majority of the wafer, and an upper surface of the bulk region may be a front surface f and a lower surface may be a back surface b.

In addition, the edge region E may be divided into a bevel portion (WB: Wafer Bevel) and an apex (WA: Wafer Apex). An upper surface of the bevel portion WB may be referred to as a front surface WBf of the bevel portion and a lower surface of the bevel portion WB may be referred to as a back surface WBb of the bevel portion.

In FIG. 2 , a thickness of a bulk region of a wafer W may be referred to as ‘t’, a thickness or height of an apex WA may be referred to as ‘B 3 ’ in an edge region, a height or thickness of a front surface WBf of a bevel portion may be referred to as ‘B 1 ’, and a height or thickness of a back surface WBb of a bevel portion may be referred to as ‘B 2 ’.

In addition, a lateral length or a width of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion may be referred to as ‘A 1 ’, and a lateral length or a width of the back surface WBb of the bevel portion may be referred to as ‘A 2 ’. At this time, sizes of B 1 and B 2 may be the same, and sizes of A 1 and A 2 may be the same, but may not necessarily coincide 100% in consideration of an error in a fabricating process.

Further, a first angle (angle 1 , θ 1 ) formed by a front surface f of the wafer W and the front surface WBf of the bevel portion and a second angle (angle 2 , θ 2 ) formed by a back surface b of the wafer W and the front surface WBf of the bevel portion are shown in FIG. 2 . Here, the first angle (angle 1 , θ 1 ) and the second angle (angle 2 , θ 2 ) may be equal to each other, but may not necessarily coincide 100% in consideration of an error in a fabricating process.

In FIG. 2 , a dotted line extending from the front surface WBf and the back surface WBb of the bevel portion of the wafer W may be a tangential line at the front surface WBf and the back surface WBb of the bevel portion of the wafer, respectively. In addition, the tangential line may be a tangential line at a certain point on the front surface WBf and the back surface WBb of the bevel portion of the wafer W, respectively, but may be a tangential line connecting two points, which will be described later in FIGS. 4 to 5 .

A cross-sectional shape of a wafer fabricated by the above described process is measured as described below, but a cross-sectional shape of a plurality of wafers may be measured by the same method.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a reference point and first to third points of a bevel portion of a wafer.

In FIG. 3 . a part of a front surface f of a bulk region B of a wafer and a part of a front surface WBf of a bevel portion of an edge region E are shown. The front surface f of the bulk region B of the wafer may be flat, and a virtual line extended from the front surface f is shown by a dotted line.

The front surface WBf of the bevel portion forms a curved surface in the edge region E, a reference point P 0 and first to third points P 1 , P 2 , P 3 are shown from a point close to the bulk region B at the front surface WBf of the bevel portion in FIG. 3 .

A height of the reference point P 0 may be disposed substantially at the same height or slightly lower than the front surface f of the bulk region B, and the reference point P 0 may be referred to as a starting point of the bevel portion.

In FIG. 2 , when the height or thickness of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion is referred to as ‘B 1 ’, a height difference between the front surface f of the bulk region B and the reference point P 0 of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion in FIG. 3 , may be close to zero or within 1 micrometer, for example, 0.6 micrometer.

The first point P 1 may be a point having a maximum curvature in the front surface WBf of the bevel portion. The point having the maximum curvature may be confirmed by measuring all curvature of each point, or may be a point at which a second differentiation value of a profile of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion becomes maximum.

In FIG. 2 , when the height or thickness of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion is referred to as ‘B 1 ’, a height difference d 1 between the front surface f of the bulk region B and the first point P 1 of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion in FIG. 3 , may be within 2.0% of the ‘B 1 ’, for example 1.2%.

The second point P 2 may be a point adjacent to the first point P 1 on the front surface WBf of the bevel portion. In FIG. 2 , when the height or thickness of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion is referred to as ‘B 1 ’, a height difference d 2 between the front surface f of the bulk region B and the second point P 2 of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion in FIG. 3 , may be within 10% of the ‘B 1 ’.

The third point P 3 may be a point adjacent to the second point P 2 on the front surface WBf of the bevel portion. In FIG. 2 , when the height or thickness of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion is referred to as ‘B 1 ’, a height difference d 3 between the front surface f of the bulk region B and the third point P 3 of the front surface WBf of the bevel portion in FIG. 3 , may be within 30% of the ‘B 1 ’.

In addition, in FIG. 3 , a region between the reference point P 0 and the first point P 1 in the bevel portion of the edge region E may be referred to as a first region (region 1 ), a region between the first point P 1 and the second point P 2 may be referred to as a second region (region 2 ), and a region between the second point P 2 and the third point P 3 may be referred to as a third region (region 3 ).

A lateral distance or a width of the first region (region 1 ) may be from 10 micrometers to 40 micrometers. A sum of the lateral distances or widths of the first region (region 1 ) and the second region (region 2 ) may be 60 micrometers to 90 micrometers.

In FIG. 4 , in a front surface WBf of an edge region E of a wafer, a first line connecting a first point P 1 , which has the smallest curvature radius, that is, the maximum curvature, to a second point P 2 is measured and shown. In addition, a first angle θ 11 formed by the first line and a front surface f of a bulk region B of the wafer is measured and shown.

In FIG. 5 , a second line connecting a third point P 3 from a second point P 2 on a front surface WBf of an edge region E of a wafer is measured and shown. In addition, a second angle θ 12 formed by the second line and a front surface f of a bulk region B of the wafer is measured and shown.

In order to avoid confusion with the first angle (angle 1 , θ 1 ) and the second angle (angle 2 , θ 2 ) in FIG. 2 , first and second angles in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be referred to as a first-first angle θ 11 and a first-second angle θ 12 , respectively. The first angle (angle 1 , θ 1 ) may be measured in various methods in FIG. 2 , and may be measured through the first point P 1 and the second point P 2 in FIG. 4 , and may be measured through the second point P 2 and the third point P 3 in FIG. 5 .

In addition, a thin film layer may be formed on a surface of each wafer by a method such as deposition.

In addition, a thickness profile of an edge region of the wafer on which each of the thin film layers is formed may be measured.

In addition, it is possible to confirm a wafer having the smallest maximum value of the thickness profile of the thin film layer among the plurality of wafers. The thin film layer deposited on a surface of a wafer may show the maximum value of the thickness profile particularly at the bevel portion described above or the front surface of the bulk region adjacent to the bevel portion, and as the maximum value of the thickness profile is relatively small, the quality of a fabricated wafer is excellent, and a possibility of occurrence of a defect of a semiconductor element may be also low.

At this time, it is possible to expect that a shape of the first point P 1 having the maximum curvature in the above-described bevel portion has the largest influence on the above-described thickness profile of the thin film layer. However, since it is difficult to accurately measure a gradient of a tangential line at the first point P 1 , instead, an angle formed by a tangential line and a front surface of a bulk region of a wafer may be obtained by obtaining the tangential line connecting the first point P 1 to the second point P 2 .

In the result of measurement, the tangential line connecting the first point P 1 to the second point P 2 is obtained, and when a first angle θ 11 , which is an angle formed by the tangential line and a front surface of a bulk region of a wafer, is 22° or more, it may be confirmed that a thickness of a thin film layer is increased.

In addition, the correlation between the first angle θ 11 measured in the second region (region 2 ) or the second section described above and the thickness of the thin film layer was confirmed.

FIG. 6 shows the correlation between a first angle θ 11 measured in a position of a second point P 2 and a second section on an F-type substrate and a thickness of a thin film layer.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the F-type substrate may be a wafer in which an apex of a bevel portion of an edge region has a flat shape.

A horizontal axis represents the sum of the lateral distances or widths of the first region (region 1 ) and the second region (region 2 ) at the second point P 2 , and may be a distance of the horizontal direction between the reference point P 0 and the second point P 2 in FIG. 3 .

When the distance from the reference point P 0 of the second point P 2 is positioned between 60 to 90 micrometers, it may be seen that the correlation between the first angle θ 11 measured in the above-described second section and the thickness of the thin film layer is 80% or more.

FIG. 7 shows the correlation between a first angle θ 11 measured in a position of a second point P 2 and a second section on an R-type substrate and a thickness of a thin film layer.

Unlike what is shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the R-type substrate may be a wafer in which an apex of a bevel portion of an edge region has a round shape.

When the distance from the reference point P 0 of the second point P 2 is positioned between 50 to 80 micrometers, it may be seen that the correlation between the first angle θ 11 measured in the above-described second section and the thickness of the thin film layer is 80% or more.

FIG. 8 shows the correlation between the first angle in FIG. 4 and the second angle in FIG. 5 .

In a case in which a second point P 2 is disposed at a position of 80 micrometers from a reference point P 0 in one wafer, the horizontal axis may show a first angle θ 11 and the vertical axis may show a second angle θ 12 .

In FIG. 8 , the correlation between the first and second angles is measured to be about 0.95. In addition, when the magnitude of the first angle θ 11 on the horizontal axis is 18 degrees or less, it may be confirmed that the correlation with the thickness of the thin film layer is low.

Therefore, when the first angle θ 11 , that is, the angle formed by the first line connecting the first point P 1 to the second point P 2 and the front surface of the bulk region of the wafer is 18° to 22° and the second point P 2 is positioned at a distance of 60 to 90 micrometers from the reference point P 0 , the thickness of the thin film layer, in particular, the maximum value of the thickness becomes small, and therefore, it may be seen that the quality of the wafer is improved.

It may be accomplished by controlling the first angle θ 11 through an edge grinding, edge polishing, or double side polishing process in the wafer fabricating process.

When depositing the thin film in a following process by analyzing the shape of the wafer as described above, the wafer which has a thin thickness, in particular, the smallest maximum value of the thickness, may be defined as follows.

The wafer may be provided with front and back surfaces opposite and parallel each other above/below the bulk region, and may be provided with the edge region disposed at the edge of the bulk region. The edge region may include the bevel portion and the apex of the edge thereof, and the bevel portion may include the first point having the maximum curvature and the second point spaced apart in a direction of the apex from the first point, which are disposed in order from the front surface toward the apex.

In addition, the first angle formed by the first line connecting the first point to the second point and the front surface of the wafer may be 18° or more and 22° or less.

At this time, when a height of the bevel portion in the edge region of the wafer is referred to as ‘B 1 ’, a height difference between the first point and the front surface of the wafer may be within 2.0%.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a thin film deposition and etching process of a wafer.

After depositing the thin film layer of the wafer and coating a photoresist (PR), the thin film layer may be removed by a method such as etching. It may be confirmed that a part of the thin film layer remains in a region adjacent to the edge region of the wafer or the bevel portion after the etching process. In the case of the wafer having the profile of the bevel portion described above, the thin film layer remaining in the region adjacent to the edge region or the bevel portion may be minimized.

In a method of analyzing a wafer shape according to the embodiment, it is difficult to accurately measure a gradient of a tangential line at a first point having the maximum curvature in a bevel portion. Instead, a tangential line connecting a first point P 1 to a second point P 2 is obtained, and when a first angle θ 11 , which is an angle formed by the tangential line and a front surface of a bulk region of a wafer, is 18° to 22°, it can be confirmed that a thin film layer of the wafer is formed thin.